Alright guys, had a couple drinks - but feel the need for a serious rant. Take it for what it's worth.
Pre-Amaya Stars (pre-black friday) didn't have the best VIP program - or even close to it really.
It was a decent vip program. When they launched the super-nova elite thing it was inspiring. I can't remember the exact details but ... bust your ass for an entire year - like, put in 1.5 mill + hands of $50+NL or play some seemingly ridiculous amount of HUSNGs... and get a $30-50k USD bonus. In the end, this equals a solid year of 55+ hours per week of grinding hard.
So anyway...my point is that Stars did not - and never has had an amazing VIP program. There were plenty of great deals that have come and gone since they were on top.
They (stars) had one thing.
Seals used to have the same thing. (thanks to micon...i think?)
It was the most important thing.
They were FUCKING HONEST.
When a player had a complaint, they responded because - well - they had nothing to hide. Get your shit together SWC, the fact that you haven't responded to marlais' comments is fucking pathetic.
Shame on you!
TL;DR(s):
-Pre-Amaya Stars VIP program is irrelevant - they had integrity. Integrity > All Else.
-Seals doesn't currently seem to have much of ^^integrity.
-The 'new' seals admin are fucking pathetic. Seriously. You guys are fucking things up big time. Knock it off please.
-Betcoin.ag is so incredibly scummy and awful - they don't deserve to even be mentioned in this argument.
I'll clear this up a bit for you, since the alcohol seems to be doing most of the talking
SNE (Supernova Elite) required 1 million VPP, not to be confused with FPP's. At the time when I was grinding stars, it was actually about 1.2 million hands of 200NL to reach this, and playing 24 tables you could average around 1600 hands/hr mixing in some fast ones also.
The reason they had the best VIP system is because SNE was actually worth over $100k USD in rakeback and bonuses (like milestones) , but that was assuming you only ever bought the $4000 bonus (best value not counting concierge) using FPP's.
Also Stars used dealt rake. This means that you would accrue FPP's for any hand that you were dealt into and saw a flop, regardless of whether or not you paid rake. Compared to other sites like FTP at the time, and what SWC uses now, which is a form of contributed rake. I.e., you only get back a portion of rake you actually generate yourself. That was probably the main thing that made their system better, you could literally fold and still make thousands of dollars.
While I understand why most recreational players, or players who never made it to SN or SNE, wouldn't agree with my above statement, I assure you that it was 100% completely accurate circa 2011 and pre-Black Friday, albeit a moot point since Amaya doesn't even offer the SN or SNE program anymore.
My overarching point was that comparing shitty Bitcoin poker sites, that seem to be apparently run by a handful of guys at the best of times, to a multi billion (with a b) dollar generating, well-established site is is unrealistic and unfair. (Stars got the majority of their market share when PartyPoker went public and willingly left the US.) That being said, it doesn't mean that SwC couldn't be run much better. Hell, it wouldn't even take them that much time, energy, or resources to make some very simple improvements to their site, and I agree they should perhaps start with transparency.
Now, for an update on my BCC saga, we're moving into day 5 of waiting for my BCC. I got this email from SwC support this morning. 11:42 AM (12 hours ago)
to me
Hi XXXXXXXXXX,
We are processing bch withdrawals later today.
Thank you for playing SwC PokerNeedless to say, I never received my BCC, so I was compelled to contact support yet once again.Hi, we must have varying definitions of today, because where I reside (planet Earth) today means, and I quote Merriam-Webster, on or for this day; at the present time.Seeing as it is now:
Time (UTC) Mon Sep 25 00:42:24 2017 UTC
I can only assume that this was an oversight on your part, and that the 'today' you referenced in your above email wasn't actually based on the time which your website employs. I hope this was the case, and that you are in fact not still failing to payout my 88.11 BCC, which you are unlawfully withholding, by the way. All this compounded on top of the fact that your website falsely states BCC claims will be paid out in 48 hours. No, I truly hope indeed that this is not the case. To which I received this amazing response:We understand you are upset.
BCH payments will be made shortly.
We have added 1 chip to your account in recognition of your long time play at SwC Poker.And no, that 1 is not a typo. I'l be sending the 1 chip back, as it's more of an insult than a bribe. I just want the BCC that is rightfully mine they are withholding, for apparently no good reason, and for far longer than the original timetable that their site advertises.
-BttB
Edit - Ended up donating the chip to one of the few decent regs left on the site.
Edit 2 - Took 5 and a half days but finally received my BCC. At least seals is consistent, although unfortunately consistently behind, when it comes to timetables.
